Bitcoin, Ether Options Expire as Deribit Puts Trade at Premium and KuCoin Settles $2.13B

Bitcoin was quoted at $62,591.17 as the broader crypto market showed signs of life, but CoinDesk said traders were not fully buying the bounce.

“With bitcoin This is evident from the BTC and ether (ETH) options markets listed on Deribit, where put options, derivative contracts offering protection against price slides, continue to trade at a premium to calls, or bullish contracts”

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CoinDesk pointed to Deribit options where put options continued to trade at a premium to calls, with Bitcoin's one-week, 25-delta put-call skew around 16%.

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CoinDesk said the one-, three-, and six-month skews also showed put premiums of around 10% or more, keeping demand for protection against price slides intact.

In a separate market update, KuCoin said the Friday expiry session settled a combined $2.13 billion in options notional value as 31,000 BTC contracts and 135,000 ETH contracts matured.

KuCoin reported Bitcoin's put-call ratio at 0.70 while Ether's put-call ratio printed at 1.29, signaling diverging sentiment into expiry.

CoinDesk said Bitcoin's one-week, 25-delta put-call skew measured the difference in volatility for puts relative to calls and showed puts outpacing demand by a 16% vol point premium.

CoinDesk also cited data source Velo, saying the 16% level was still notably elevated but significantly lower than the 25% of 10 days ago.

KuCoin

KuCoin said maximum pain for Ether sat at $1,650, while Bitcoin's own max pain point was $61,000, describing these levels as magnets during expiry hours.

KuCoin reported that the $1.9 billion in notional value set the stage for a non-trivial delta hedging unwind as the settlement window closed.

CoinDesk added that, according to Laevitas, one of the big flows was a long call condor on BTC with July 17 expiry calls at the $64,000 and $70,000 strikes and short positions at $66,000 and $68,000.

KuCoin said the options market resets after expiry and flows rebuild, with the question of whether Ether's put dominance would translate into spot pressure or was simply a one-week hedge.

“This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter 'Daybook”

CoinDesk

KuCoin framed the divergence as a split between Bitcoin and Ether derivatives positioning, noting Bitcoin's put-call ratio at 0.70 and Ether's at 1.29.

CoinDesk said downside fears persist even though BTC long-term holders and ETF investors appear to have returned to accumulation, while also warning that liquidity is likely to be thin during the Independence Day weekend.

CoinDesk said the U.S. markets are closed Friday on account of the Independence Day weekend, which may lead to erratic moves.

Bitget tied the timing to today’s expiry, saying “Crypto Market Recovery in Focus as Bitcoin, ETH & XRP Options Expire Today,” and claimed prices had rebounded significantly ahead of expiry.